I'd like to prepare for cataclysm being released in terms of clearing my bags / bank and also spending / saving / acquiring 'currency' (gold / honor / emblems etc) but am not sure where to start. The kind of things I'm thinking of are where 'currency' changes from one expansion to the next:

Badges of frost / heroism etc. Should I spend them on heirloom items, or save them if they get converted to something usable in Cata?

Honor - similar question - spend now or save?

Crusader orbs / Frozen Orbs - sell now?

Sell trade mats (at now rock bottom prices)? Or are some expected still to be in demand in Cata?

Also I have a few thousand gold saved, but not sure what the 'exchange rate' is likely to be - is it worth taking advantage of being able to get gold easily now, or are quests like to pay out more than the current level 80 quests once we start levelling again?

This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, visit the help center.
If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

I'm so tempted to say, grab a box of chocolate chip cookies, a full case of your favorite beverage and strap yourself down to your chair waiting for the release... But that would be a bit off-topic so i wont.
–
Marco GeertsmaDec 8 '14 at 15:19

Yes there are new heirlooms coming out that can be used up to level 85, but they are gained through the Guild leveling system. If you are not in a guild that will level to that point, then definitely purchase them now. Otherwise it's your choice.

The justice point cap when patch 4.0.3 goes live is 4k. Any points that you have accumulated over that value will be converted to gold. That 4k Justice points will get you at most 2 pieces of Rare lvl 85 gear in Cataclysm. Maybe it's worth not spending your emblems and letting them be converted so you have that justice point bonus going into end game Cataclysm. My thoughts are that if you cap out your JP's now and run dungeons while leveling, you're going to be missing out on those points (as you'll be capped). I'm planning on spending as much of my emblems as I can on things I want, and whatever I have left over I'll go into Cataclysm with as JP's.

As for Frost emblems, depending on the going price of Primordial Saronite on your server, you might consider converting them to that and selling it off for some gold.

I've heard rumored that the Gem vendor who sells epic gems for honor is going away come the 4.0 patch. Some gold could be gained now by converting your honor and stone keeper shards into epic gems, get them cut and sell them for profit.

As for other things to do. There are a number of achievements that are being removed/converted to Feats of Strength. If that's your kind of thing you might consider doing those quickly.

Sell off anything and everything you can if it looks like the going rate for it is high. Cut gems especially. Some things like enchanting materials and cloth may actually go up in price as new characters reach the 70-80 stretch and are leveling their professions. It takes a ton of Frostweave (for instance) to level LK tailoring. I imagine that stuff will get rather scarce when not everyone is running around Northrend. So if you have some bank alts, it might benefit you to save some of that stuff for a little while.

Also, don't forget that whatever epic gear you get now will be replaced within the first few days - even quest greens/blues from the 80-85 quests will be better than your current epics.
–
GalacticCowboyOct 8 '10 at 12:20

1

Don't buy heirlooms because they'll be replaced? That doesn't make any sense. If you plan to level alts, they won't be replaced until the alts are at level 80.
–
fenomasOct 9 '10 at 12:52

As far as getting gold is concerned, you're at an advantage right now because you earn the normal gold for the quest as well as a bonus payment for the XP that you would have gained. After Cataclysm, you won't have the same bonus until you reach 85. The benefit varies by quest, anywhere from 25% to 100% more gold.

Wowhead - Cataclysm lists the quests and their rewards. For example, it looks like the quests in Mount Hyjal - the 78-82 zone - reward gold and XP very near or slightly better than those in Icecrown. 77-80 quests in Icecrown give rougly 7g 40s (13g 23s at level 80); similar quests in Hyjal reward 7g 80s (16g 53s at level 85). So in the short term you'll be getting about 45% less gold. However, by the time you're in the later zones (levels 82-84) the quest payouts should be closer to what you're now getting at 80 through the XP bonus.

Preparing for Cataclysm.. Just farm as much gold as possible. Once you start Cat. the gold you will get for quests and dailies will drop a lot because you will be getting XP instead... So, farm as much as you can...You'll probably need a few thousand gold just get new flight skills.

This link eludes to new flight skills which always cost a bomb. Looking at Patch 4.01 it seems that flight skills training is 5k.

Currency changes explained here. After doing BC and WotLK both have big impacts on mobility (ie Flying) and earning cash. So, keep those in mind.